Presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea was accused of mimicking former conservative President Lee Myung-bak’s vision for economic growth of South Korea. Rep. Sim Sang-jung of the left-wing Justice Party asked during a televised presidential debate Monday if Lee Jae-myung, a liberal, was copying Lee Myung-bak in promising specific figures for target in laying...

A new president is about to be elected, leading South Korea through the next phase of the pandemic. So why is COVID-19 getting so little attention in the presidential race? It wasn’t until after a hospital bed shortage induced by the “living with COVID-19” scheme in November that the leading candidates -- the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s Lee Jae-myung and main opposition People Power Par...

From smashing pine boards to beating for victory on drum, candidates in heated race to draw attention

Those in their 20s, 30s question sincerity of pledges targeted to them via social media

Pledges and vows thrown to the wayside as candidates dredge up allegations against each other

Over the weekend, Sim Sang-jung, the minor progressive Justice Party’s presidential candidate, attacked the two front-runners for their corruption-related scandals, stressing she is “the only clean candidate qualified to be president.” On Sunday, she led her canvassing in Seoul, meeting with the people at Gwanaksan and Gangnam Station. “What is the most important quality of a president? It is t...

Young and old conservatives root for same candidate, but support differs

Minor opposition candidate blames Yoon for failed negotiations

The presidential office and main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol are once again wrangling over words, this time over Yoon’s comparison of the current administration to past fascist regimes. Speaking at a canvassing event on Thursday, Yoon of the People Power Party hit out at the incumbent Moon Jae-in government for “blaming others for their faults, and making up sins” of other pe...

The idea of building a large shopping mall in the liberal stronghold of Gwangju has become a political hot potato, after presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party made it his election pledge this week. Yoon revealed the idea of building Gwangju’s first mega shopping mall on Wednesday, emphasizing how Gwangju is the “only” city without such a facility and blam...

Lee's Wednesday rally filled with denunciations, mockery of his rival

SEOUL/CHEONAN -- The election campaign bus involved in the deaths of two campaign workers for presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo turned out to be illegally modified without the authorities’ approval, transportation ministry officials said Wednesday. The workers, a local campaign chief and a bus driver, were found unconscious inside a campaign bus in Cheonan, about 90 kilometers south of Seoul,...

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung and minor candidate Sim Sang-jeung have expressed their disapproval of a 2015 agreement reached by South Korea and Japan to settle the issue of wartime sex slaves, an advocacy coalition said Wednesday. Lee of the liberal Democratic Party and Sim of the progressive Justice Party stated their positions in response to questions sent last month by th...

The presidential election has once again come down to the candidates from the two major parties – the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party. Both the Democratic Party of Korea’s Lee Jae-myung and the People Power Party’s Yoon Suk-yeol claim to be the only choice for a better future, and have made numerous pledges they claim are aimed at improving citizens’ lives. Many of their ple...

Photos of a ritual shows Yoon's name, as well as those of ruling bloc figures